Will's Lemon Chicken

After the most bi-polar weather I've ever experienced... we are finally set to have some consistently nice weather here in DC.  Well, hopefully.  My roomie and I decided to take the charcoal out of storage and fire up the grill.

Tonight I will be making my step dad's amazing lemon chicken.  It's very simple and ohhh so delicious. :) All you need are four ingredients. Chicken breasts, butter, lemon juice, and garlic salt. 

For 4-6 chicken breasts:

One stick of butter

4 -6 oz of lemon juice

One teaspoon of garlic salt 

Melt butter.  Add lemon juice and garlic salt. Mix together.  Save part of it for basting the chicken.  Add chicken and let it sit in the mixture while the grill gets hot. 

Sear (high) chicken on both sides

Turn the heat down to med or low, 

baste chicken every time you flip it over

Don't over cook the chicken.

That's it. 

My favorite chicken recipe: chicken pillows

I don't mind chicken in this recipe at all.  I love these.

Chicken Pillows

2-3 cooked chicken cut in bit sized pieces

1 8 oz pkg cream cheese

1 can drained mushrooms

2-3 pkgs crescent rolls 

butter

bread crumbs

Gravy

1 can cream of chicken soup

1/2 cup of milk or 1 c. sour cream

1 tbsp lemon juice

Mix cooked chicken, cream cheese and mushrooms together.  Place mixture in each crescent roll. Seal edges.  Melt butter and drizzle on each roll.  Dip in bread crumbs.  Bake @ 350.  Make gravy by heating soup and milk/sour cream and lemon juice.

Teri Chicken

One of my coworkers remarked today that I sure do have a lot of chicken recipes for someone who hates chicken.  She couldn't be more right.  I rarely cook it myself.  I usually make recipes and just leave out the chicken.  However the two chicken recipes today are posted in honor of the 4th!  And I do actually like these marinades for chicken!  

This chicken is one of my family's favorite grilling recipes.  It's from my Aunt Paula originally.  It is delicious with Easy Fried Rice. 

Teri Chicken Marinade (Aunt Paula)

1/4 c. Water

1/4 c. Soy Sauce

1/4 c. Molasses

1/3 c. Cider Vinegar

2 T. Sugar

1 T. Fresh Ginger

2 Cloves Chopped Garlic

2 LBS Boneless Chicken

Combine all ingredients and refrigerate 30 minutes or overnight.  Saute on a skillet or cook on grill.

Chicken Broccoli Braid

Another Aunt Paula favorite!  I believe this is a similar recipe to the pampered chef one...  When I made it the first time- I had no idea how to do the braid. I found this on youtube and it shows how to make it pretty! 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0YYju6VIMLI

Chicken Broccoli Braid

2 c. cooked chicken

1 c. broccoli 

1/2 c. red bell pepper

1 garlic clove

1 c. sharp cheddar cheese

1/2 c. mayo

2 tsp. dry dill weed

1/4 tsp. salt

2 T. slivered almonds

2 packages crescent rolls

Chop chicken, broccoli and red pepper.  In a large bowl combine chicken, broccoli, red pepper, garlic, cheese, mayo, dill weed & salt. Mix well. Unroll both packages of crescent rolls.  Do not separate sections.  Arrange dough across the width of a cookie sheet or baking stone.  Roll dough to seal perforations.  Apply filling down the center of the dough (approx. 6 in.) and fold sides over the filling.  Brush 1 lightly beaten egg white over dough.  Sprinkle with almonds. 

Bake @ 375 for 30 minutes or until deep golden brown.

Ranch Chicken Pizza

Another Aunt Paula recipe.  This is my favorite pizza! 

Ranch Chicken Pizza

1/2 c. Ranch Dressing

3 oz. cream cheese

2 t. tomato paste

1 cup chopped cooked chicken

1/2 c. red bell pepper strips

sliced olives

1/4 c. green onions

1 c. shredded mozzarella cheese

Combine dressing with cream cheese and tomato paste.  Stir in chicken.  Spread mixture on pizza dough.  Arrange peppers, olives, and onions on pizza.  Sprinkle cheese on top.  Bake @ 450 degrees for 15 minutes.

Bowtie Chicken Caesar Salad

I was looking through food blogs yesterday and came across a great recipe from The Girl Who Ate Everything.

My old room mate in van ness used to make something similar.  I do like this recipe, however I changed it up a bit- I didn't really care for the Brianna’s Asiago Caesar Dressing.  I think I'd use my trusted Kraft Caesar dressing next time.  I didn't use chicken because I don't like it- but I know lots of people do so I left it in.  It is great without!

This recipe feeds a family.  Last night my roomie and I each had a bunch of romaine lettuce and added the amount of toppings we wanted.

Bowtie Chicken Caesar Salad

3 bunches romaine leaf lettuce, chopped

1 bag Marie Calendars Fat Free Croutons
1 bag Almond Accents/ Roasted Garlic Caesar
2 Chicken Breasts, boiled with an onion and salt and pepper (optional)
2 cups bowtie pasta, cooked
4 - 6 oz. shredded parmesan cheese
Kraft Caesar Dressing

Toss all the above ingredients with Caesar dressing right before serving.

Chicken Broccoli Bake

When I lived in Scotland one of my room mates made this chicken broccoli bake all the time.  It is so good! I made these cards back before I broke my computer and lost my adobe photoshop. Sigh.:(

Update 7/6: My mom just made this recipe and said this goes great with mashed potatoes.  I don't eat mashed potatoes so I'll take her word for it. :)

In case you can't read it... Here's the recipe. 

3 chicken breasts

1 can cream of chicken soup

3/4 can milk- (use empty soup can and fill it 3/4 way up with milk)

Juice from one lemon (don't skimp on the lemon!) 

2/3 cup salad cream or dressing (you can usually find this by the mayo) 

2/3 cup mayo

Salt and pepper

1 bag cheddar cheese

Broccoli **Note that if you use frozen broccoli- cook it before and drain well before placing it in the bake

Flavored Croutons

Cook chicken and cut into bite sized pieces.  Place broccoli into a glass baking dish and cover with cheddar cheese. In a bowl, mix soup, milk, lemon juice, mayo and dressing with the chicken.  Place mixture over broccoli. Place croutons on top.  Cover with foil.  Bake @ 350 for for 30 minutes. Remove foil for the last 10 minutes so croutons can brown.

Chicken and Wild Rice Casserole

This casserole is the ultimate comfort food.  I don't want to know how many calories are in it... But I love it.  If you're not a huge chicken fan- you can leave out the chicken.  I do all the time, but it is good with it in.

Chicken and wild rice comfort casserole

1 box of Uncle Ben's rice and wild rice cooked according to directions
1 chicken diced in small pieces (I like the roasted chickens you buy at grocery stores)
1 large onion-diced
3/4 cup celery-diced
1 lb. of sliced mushrooms
3 Tbsp. butter
1 cup sour cream
1 can of cream of mushroom soup
Salt and pepper to taste

Sauté onion, celery and mushrooms in butter until cooked and a little brown.

When done add salt and pepper.

In bowl mix together chicken bits, cooked rice and sautéed ingredients.

Mix well with 1 cup of sour cream and one can of soup and pour in 9X9 baking dish.

Bake uncovered in oven at 350 degrees for about 40 minutes...or until brown and bubbly!
Serve with a green salad.

Chicken Salad Sandwiches

I don't eat a lot of chicken.  But I do love chicken salad sandwiches.  This is my recipe based off a recipe I got from my friend Rachael.  Hope you enjoy! 

Chicken Salad Sandwiches

3 cups cooked chicken (I usually boil and shred mine)

1 tsp onion powder

1 cup celery (cut in little pieces)

1 can water chestnuts (cut in half)

Red grapes (cut in half)

1 cup mayo

1 cup sour cream

Slivered Almonds

Mix all together